A report by Ming-Chi Kuo claims that Apple’s work on its own 5G modem won’t be ready for the iPhone until at least 2023.
Apple made a big deal about 5G in the iPhone 12, but there was one thing that wasn’t mentioned in the keynote hype—the modem isn’t made by Apple. It’s one of the few essential iPhone chips that Apple doesn’t manufacture, and a new report says that isn’t going to change with the next few models. Apple has been working on a 5G modem since last year following its purchase of Intel’s shuttered mobile modem business. The billion-dollar deal brought patents, intellectual property, and a couple of thousand employees as Apple looks to cut ties with Qualcomm, which currently supplies the X55 modem in the iPhone 12.
